Unfortunately, cancer has become a deadly disease that is far too familiar to most of us. Patients endure surgeries, chemotherapy and/or radiation to win the battle with cancer, but even after the battle is won the body still struggles to return back to a normal state. The effects of each of these can prove to be life-saving, but it doesn’t mean that all of the effects are good. 650,000 cancer patients receive 
chemotherapy in an outpatient oncology clinic in the United States each year. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause issues like hair loss, fatigue, body aches, hot flashes and sickness. Not to mention that huge amounts of stress are forced on the body, and patients have to buckle up for a rough emotional roller coaster. According to the National Cancer Institute, “acupuncture is used to treat many illnesses and ailments and in cancer patients. Patients use it to control pain and to relieve nausea and vomiting, fatigue, hot flashes, xerostomia, neuropathy, anxiety, depression and sleeping problems.” They also claim that the reason why acupuncture is so effective could be due to the physical responses in nerve cells, the pituitary gland, and parts of the brain affecting blood pressure and body temperature, as well as the immune system being strengthened with treatments.
The Cancer Research Organization in the UK also agrees that acupuncture can have many benefits for those undergoing chemotherapy. They’ve done numerous studies for several side effects of chemotherapy and how effective acupuncture was for the patients. Experiments have been studied for vomiting and nausea, nerve changes, mood swings and anxiety, hot flashes, lymphoedema, fatigue, breathlessness, and sleeping issues. With all of the research being done for helping all of these side effects, our hope is that people will turn to acupuncture for a little bit of help in their recovery process to get their body back on a healthy path. 
For more information, please visit our sources:
http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/acupuncture-pdq
